Silence, Solitude, Stillness: The Spiritual Disciplines We Need in a Noisy World

We live in a world of pervasive noise. Even when we're alone and our surroundings are quiet, our devices bombard us with an endless stream of inputs — messages, news, opinions, entertainment — and we feel constantly connected.

My guest argues that this lack of both silence and solitude isn't just generating stress and fragmenting our attention, but doing real damage to our souls.

His name is John Mark Comer, and he’s a pastor and the author of Into the Quiet. Today on the show, we discuss what noise is doing to the deepest parts of us and how engaging in silence and solitude can help us cultivate inner stillness. We explore the monastic tradition behind these spiritual disciplines, why engaging in them can sometimes feel like a negative experience, and what happens when all our usual distractions disappear. We also get into simple ways to bring more quiet into everyday life.

After the show’s over, check out the show notes at aom.is/silence.

Resources Related to the Podcast

Connect With John Mark Comer

John Mark's website

0:00 Introduction

1:33 What Prompted "Into the Quiet"

5:42 Soundless Noise in the Digital Age

7:39 What Noise Does to Our Souls

11:02 Loneliness vs. Solitude

13:57 Cultivating Inner Stillness

19:02 The Eremos: Jesus' Practice of Solitude

23:58 The Desert Fathers & Monastic Tradition

29:06 What Happens in the Silence

39:17 Confronting Inner Demons in Solitude

47:36 Practical Ways to Practice Silence & Solitude

51:47 Outro

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